Are we seriously convinced that taking away helmets is going to prevent head trauma? That doesn't make sense.

As an athletic trainer of 20 years and sports injury epidemiologist of 15, not to mention the father of a 10-year-old who’s already had two concussions, I take the subject of head trauma in organized youth sports very seriously. So much so, I’ve donated my own brain to the Brain Endowment Bank at the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami. I’m hopeful that the nine concussions I’ve experienced personally (none from football despite playing in high school) can unlock additional answers for treatment and prevention that might yield progress for my son and future generations.

On the surface, I’m pleased that the topic continues to receive heavy attention from sports leagues, parents and athletes, athletic training professionals and now legislators. But a deeper look has me extremely troubled by the narrow lens through which so many are looking for answers.

Illinois just narrowly avoided disaster, but three other states (New York, New Jersey and California) are still considering legislation banning youth tackle football. My concern is, like many laws, the proposed youth football bans will be hastily drafted, watered down in subcommittee, and passed into law with little guidance on how to implement the alternative, flag football. Passing legislation haphazardly, despite good intentions, could do more harm than good.

In 1905, 19 college and professional football players died, spurring former president Theodore Roosevelt to take action, including threats of banning the sport. This led to the formation of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) with the purpose of making sports, especially football, safer. Following this, many safety improvements, including the modern football helmet, drastically lowered the risk of death. Today’s helmets are tremendously effective at preventing eye, dental, skull and other facial fractures, and we seem to forget this benefit simply because they’re unable to prevent all concussions, which is impossible for any helmet.

Youth football remains the wild west when it comes to organizational structure. You have USA Football, the national governing body, but there are also other national organizations like Pop Warner and American Youth Football. By my estimation, those two organizations account for only a little over half of all youth football programs. Many leagues are independent or unaffiliated with any national organizations.

For example, my son played flag football for an unaffiliated recreational league in Indiana. In that league, as a 7-year-old, he was required to wear padded football pants, but not shoulder pads or a helmet. Despite wearing minimal equipment, he was taught to block and “tackle” as if playing tackle football. He was even taught the local high school football team chant.

Clearly that community sponsored recreational program, like so many others, was designed to feed quality players into the competitive high school program. My wife, also an athletic trainer, and I removed him from that league because it was not safe. Neither my wife nor I are encouraging our son to play tackle football. However, if he wanted to play, we would only let him join a league with sound practice and game policies, required coaching education, and a proper helmet that is effective for what it was designed, preventing death from skull fractures.

Proposed laws include banning tackle football below the age of 12 or 14. The main premise is that youthful brains are still developing and more susceptible to trauma and this would limit players’ exposure to subclinical head impacts over a football career.

However, these bans would not address uneducated, overly competitive coaches, scholarship-seeking parents, or organizations competing to make money and/or provide athletes to high school programs. Without extensive forethought, guidance and policy as to how flag football should be implemented, these bans would only exacerbate the unsafe conditions of the youth league to high school pipeline because they remove the protective equipment, without removing the bad actors who still see these programs as preparation for the high-contact version that will likely follow.

Hasty reactions to media sensationalism without forethought or consideration of potential unintended consequences will not protect kids. Providing policy, education and guidance as to how current youth football should be managed and organized would be a good starting point before removing equipment that is proven effective at preventing a myriad of injuries including death.

Tragically, these laws are trading concussions (wearing helmets) for concussions and death (not wearing helmets). Are we so naive to think taking helmets away will prevent head trauma?

Thomas P. Dompier is associate professor of athletic training at Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Pa.